Why was gallipoli important to the allies?

Answer 1

The battle at Gallipoli was one of the defining points of Australian (and also New Zealand) military history. World War 1 was the first major war that Australia fought as an independent country and not a British colony. It wanted to prove itself as a strong and worthwhile ally and a nation of brave fighters. On April 25, 1915, thousands of ANZAC soldiers marched into immortality on the shores of Gallipoli. They had landed in the wrong place, turning the ill-fated attack from a failure of strategy into a bloodbath. Many died before they even reached the beach. Despite the massacre the troops marched bravely forwards and continued to fight. Countless young men were killed. Soon they were locked into trench warfare which lasted for months. Conditions were among the worst endured during World War 1. The ground was littered with rotting bodies and it was too unsafe to dispose of them. The trenches were full of knee-deep mud consisting largely of human feces. Flies, rats and lice were rampant. During this period of unimaginable hardship and squalor, the ANZACS kept their spirit and held their ground. Thousands of the bravest men the ANZACS ever knew died for a few metres of territory. The youngest of them was just fourteen (he had lied about his age to enlist) and became something of a legend. However perhaps the best known ANZAC was John Simpson Kirkpatrick. He enlisted as John Simpson but was known to most as Jack, or simply 'the man with the donkey'. Sent to Gallipoli as a stretcher bearer, he rescued several abandoned donkeys and used them to transport wounded men from the trenches down Shrapnel Gully (a treacherous slope lined with snipers) to a hospital station on the beach. Now only one man was needed to transport a wounded troop, instead of four stretcher bearers. He continued his work even when there were so many snipers that ambulance men were ordered not to go out. Less than a month after arriving, he was shot in the back by a Turkish sniper. He was just 21. Simpson was buried at Hell Spit with a simple wooden cross to mark his grave. After the armistice, his grave was located and marked with a granite slab. The inscription on his headstone reads He gave his life that others may live. This embodies the spirit of the ANZACS, the spirit that refused to be broken and still survives today. On April 25th every year, Australians and New Zealanders line the streets to remember the fallen, not just from Gallipoli but from all wars in our histories. This is ANZAC Day, a major public holiday. Lest We Forget.